


The future is what we make of it

by BlackDawnRose



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-28 22:19:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3871816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackDawnRose/pseuds/BlackDawnRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry and Draco lost everything in the war, now Hogwarts and the souls of those who died in the war are giving them a chance to change the future and save those they lost. Drarry, time travel fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I think the summary says it all

The Future is what we make of it

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy stood atop the newly constructed astronomy tower of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, looking over the newly completed school grounds. It had been beautifully done; they and many others had made sure of it, and while the construction had taken several months to complete it had at least been done properly and the staff and students that would soon be returning could enjoy the school the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Neither of them would be among this group, despite the many offers they'd had to teach at the school. After finishing their education both men had gone on to further study and had graduated top of their respective classes meaning they could have a job anywhere they wanted. Working at Hogwarts would be a great use of their talents and they could help shape the next generation of witches and wizards –The minister's words ringing in their ears as he tried to convince them to agree to the job offers- but they just couldn't bring themselves to do it. Yes, they'd helped rebuild the school and ensured it was as perfect as it could be. But now the rebuilding was over and without the distraction brought about by continuous planning and construction the grounds were eerily silent and looking at them did nothing but serve to remind both men of what had happened here and what they'd lost.

Despite its newly finished, perfectly pristine appearance, when Harry and Draco looked at the grounds all they could see was what it looked like during the final battle. The rubble on the ground as the castle fell, the still bodies of the dead lying strewn around the place, bright red blood and flashes of magic everywhere. The wind, while silent, seemed to echo with the screams of the dying and the cackle of evil beings as they cut down adults and children alike without so much as a shred of remorse.

The memories haunted their steps wherever they went, but after spending time at Hogwarts the effect was far more noticeable. They already suffered nightmares which caused them to wake up screaming and clawing at the darkness in attempt to fight off remembered enemies, but after being at Hogwarts for the day they were always more vivid. Red eyes and a reptilian face invaded even those dreams that stared off pleasant and turned them into something dark and evil on those nights and the only thing that soothed them after those dreams was each other. They calmed each other, soothed each other and supported each other through it all as best they could, often alternating the days they went to the school so they weren't both plagued with the nightmares on the same night. While one was weak the other was strong and that was how they survived when everyone else they'd ever loved was gone.

The war had been horrible, but from it they'd both received an amazing and beautiful gift in each other. They'd bonded in the hospital after the final battle.

They'd both chosen the same ledge to jump from and end their lives.

In the end, after much conversation and tears, rather than jump they'd taken each other's hand and headed back inside with a promise to help the other hold together when they wanted to fall apart. They'd kept that promise to each other ever since and the bond they'd created that night had quickly turned into friendship which had then, after only a few weeks, morphed into love.

They weren't silly about that love like many other couples were. When Harry realised he was in love with Draco he'd said so and after a few days to think about what he felt himself Draco had returned the sentiment. There wasn't any awkwardness or fear surrounding their relationship, they didn't avoid their feelings or sit up at night frightened that it wasn't going to last and they'd end up hurt. Life was too short for those kinds of fears, they both knew it, and they'd moved headlong into the relationship with an agreement that if they didn't work out there would be no hard feelings, and if it were to end, their relationship would be beautiful, wonderful and fulfilling until it did.

They were as happy together as they could be, but try as they might they couldn't shake the guilt and anguish they were swamped with over what they'd done during the war and what they'd lost. They did everything possible to avoid thinking about it, helped everyone they could to try and make up for what they'd done, or failed to do, but in the end nothing worked, there was just too much they couldn't change.

At least that's what they'd thought.

It was on one of their rare trips to Hogwarts together that they'd learnt otherwise. Draco and Harry had gone up to the Astronomy tower, a place they'd both found solace and great sadness in over the years, to find it almost completely obliterated. It was a blow to them to see it that way and remember all that had taken place within the broken structure and they'd been holding each other crying when it had happened.

All of a sudden the astronomy tower had seemed to repair itself and while Harry and Draco looked on in shock they'd suddenly found themselves face to face with an ethereal spirit. She'd revealed herself to be the spirit of Hogwarts, an eternal being of energy that lived within the structure and its grounds, watching over all who passed through her doors. She spoke to them for what felt like hours about her sadness, at what had taken place on her property, at how little she'd been able to do to stop it, at what she'd witnessed. She told them how deeply it had hurt to lost the Headmaster, how much he'd come to mean to her over the years, but also how saddened she'd been by what had become of Tom Riddle. She'd held a deep, motherly love for both wizards and had been in mourning since Tom had started creating Horcruxes all those years ago.

She wanted to change what had happened, but she couldn't and she knew that. That didn't mean somebody else couldn't however, and that was where she'd given the men a choice. She had told them that she, along with the spirits of those who had died in the final battle, had the power to send them back. To help them change things so the battle and the blood shed never took place. It would mean those spirits would fade completely from existence in this time, they would never reincarnate or travel to an afterlife, but if Harry and Draco succeeded in changing the future they would be back, and rather than losing their possibility of an afterlife they'd be around to live their real lives in peace and happiness. It was a risk for them to take, but they were willing to put their faith in Harry and Draco's ability to succeed.

The spirit had told them to think about it and come back to her with their answer. If they agreed she would send them back in time and do whatever she could to help them fix things so the darkness wouldn't fall as it had in this life. Then, as quickly as she'd come she was gone again, leaving them back in the ruined astronomy tower with a lot to think about.

They had left the school that day deep in thought. They knew, ethically, that altering the timeline was wrong and that they really had no right to change the future of possibly every person on the planet to suit their will. At the same time however, they knew that there were a lot of people who wanted them to do just that, and as worried as they were about how they could affect the time line, stepping on a butterfly and all of that theory, there really wasn't many ways they could ruin it; it was well and truly in tatters already.

They also knew that if they refused the offer they would never forgive themselves, and in actual fact, agreeing was probably the only way they'd ever be able to live in peace without the cloud of guilt and loss hanging over their heads.

So, they'd agreed. They returned to help with the rebuilding of the castle; wanting her to be pristine before they left. They ensured everybody who died during the final battle was located and laid to rest in a dignified fashion and they worked their hardest to achieve the top level of competency in their chosen fields of study in the shortest time, knowing that when they arrived in whatever time the castle sent them they would need to be able to work to support themselves should their original plans fail. They studied the history of their families, wanting to be prepared for who they may encounter and finally, they travelled to Gringotts and cleaned out the family vaults they were both entitled to.

They kept the contents of the Malfoy and Potter family vaults, each quite a substantial amount and combined an altogether ridiculous amount. Between them they could build Malfoy manor several times over and still have enough left over to never work a day in their lives. If all went well they wouldn't need the money they were taking, but in case it didn't they had it there as a backup.

The Black family vault they divided between Andromeda, who was now caring for Teddy after Remus and Nymphadora's deaths and who rightly deserved it in both of their opinions, the Weasley family who were still reeling from the loss of so many of their children, Hogwarts to help with the reconstruction and St Mungo's to help those still recovering from the war. The Black fortune was a very sizable one and the division of the funds would support both families for a lifetime and fund a good deal of the rebuilding and research needed to repair the damage from the war.

They paid a final visit to anyone they still cared for, ensured their wills were in order, made up a story that they were going to travel for a while in case anyone became suspicious of what they were doing and prepared to leave their world behind.

The very last order of business was the destruction of Malfoy Manor. True, they could have left the structure standing, but nobody would be living in it and as selfish as it sounded Draco didn't want his family home sold or auctioned off when the authorities finally realized he and Harry were never coming back.

It was a simple spell to caste for someone of the Malfoy blood, one that had been created centuries before in case the Manor was ever invaded or anything of the sort. It hurt Draco more than he'd ever say to caste it, to destroy everything his forbearers had worked so hard to build and gather, all the family heirlooms, but it had to be done. The only things he kept for himself were his father's cane, both his parents' wands, his mother's wedding and engagement rings and the painting of them that sat above the fireplace in the middle of the entryway.

As soon as he'd gathered everything he wanted or needed to take, Draco set the spell in motion, tears spilling from his eyes from the very first word, and Harry comforted him through the experience before pulling him out of the manor as it started to burn around them. Despite the pain it caused him Draco wanted to stay and watch for a while to ensure the spell had taken properly, so Harry stayed with him, offering silent support until the blonde was satisfied and ready to go. The painting of his parents, which Draco had shrunk to fit in his pocket, spoke soothingly to him as well and Draco cuddled it close, the voices of his parents bringing more tears to his eyes.

Now it was all said and done and here they were, standing atop the newly rebuilt astronomy tower, time-turner in their hands, taking one last look at the school before they left this world forever hopefully to create a better one.

Harry felt Draco's hand tighten on his and the blonde asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Harry replied squeezing back.

No sooner had the words left his mouth the Hogwarts spirit appeared before them. She gave them both a sad smile and held out her arms. Bright light filled the tower and one by one the spirits of those who'd died in the final battle began appearing in the tower. Harry and Draco recognized almost every one of them and tears slipped down their faces as they came into view.

"Mother, Father, Severus, Blaise," Draco said shakily holding out his hands to the ghostly figures who came forward to stand beside him.

"Hermione, Ron, Remus, Luna," Harry greeted his own companions who joined him as Draco's had.

The ghostly figures smiled at them but didn't speak and the Hogwarts spirit quickly explained that they couldn't, the energy they had been channelling into the school, building up for this spell, had taken all but their ghostly form from them. It saddened both men but they understood and were grateful to at least see their loved ones one last time.

The pair bid them all a tearful goodbye and they retreated into the circle of spirits, surrounding the pair and filling the room with bright white light. A strange humming of magic neither man had ever encountered pulsed through the tower and the world around them began to fade leaving only the light and ghostly figures surrounding them. Then, one by one the figures began to fade as their magic was depleted and their souls lost.

Eventually only those who'd come to greet them and the Hogwarts spirit remained. Draco looked tearfully at his parents and Severus as they too began to fade and sobbed, "I will save you, I promise, I won't let you suffer like you did in this life. I'll be there to protect you, to love you, I swear it."

Warm smiles lit their faces and all three mouthed, "I love you" before they faded into the light.

Harry for his part stared at Ron and Hermione, wanting to keep their faces in his memory forever. He had photos, but those could always fade and he never wanted to forget his friends. "Thank you," he said tearfully. "For everything, I love you both so much."

They gave him a sad smile and Hermione blew him a kiss before they faded and he was left facing Remus.

"I will see you again soon, you and Sirius. I'll keep you away from Greyback and I'll keep him out of prison, I promise," he swore to the man who smiled back at him warmly and mouthed "I believe in you, pup" before he too faded away.

Harry and Draco pulled each other into a hug and sobbed out the pain of losing the only life they'd ever known forever. This was it now, they'd never come back and they wouldn't have any more time to dwell on what they'd lost. From now on they had to work only toward the future they were trying to create. The magic enveloped them and the Hogwarts spirit whispered her thanks before the light overtook their senses and they felt themselves falling … falling … falling…

XX

End

Okay so what do you think? Let me know and thanks for reading.


	2. Concrete Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next bit. Warning for physical and emotional abuse of several minors. These are the children Draco and Harry are going to save.

Concrete Angels

A young, seven year old, orphan boy with black hair and chocolate brown eyes stood in the courtyard of the children’s home he lived in, restrained by two older boys while another hit him repeatedly in the stomach, the face, the ribs, wherever he could reach. Taunts of ‘freak’ and ‘weirdo’ invaded his ears with each punch and he could do nothing except try to block them out and hope this round of bullying would be shorter than the last one.

This abuse was common place for him and had been since his second day in the orphanage. There were things about him that were … different, things that he did without meaning to and as soon as the other boys in the home had realized they’d started beating him, daily. He’d tried to fight back the first few times, but that only spurred them on to hurt him more and he’d tried telling the nuns who ran the orphanage what was happening to him only to have them accuse him of telling lies and punish him further themselves. So, here he was, destined to be beaten and abused every day of his life and he couldn’t help but begin to hate the brutes that were doing this to him.

He didn’t like to hate people, his mother had always taught him to be tolerant of others and forgive people who slighted him, but he couldn’t help it, he did hate them and he felt he was entitled after how they treated him. He wished he could show them what it was like to suffer like he was, he wished he could get revenge on them for hurting him, something else his mother had told him never to do but he was finding harder to abide by. It wasn’t fair that he had to suffer and they just got away with it! Why was this happening to him? What had he done to deserve this?

“Let him go, right now!” A strong, adult, male voice ordered and he, along with the boys attacking him, looked up to see who was talking to them.

The man who had come to his rescue wasn’t very old, he wasn’t overly tall and he didn’t look overly strong, but something about the fierce look in his bright, emerald eyes, told the boy he wasn’t someone to mess with. His attackers apparently didn’t think the way he did because the one hitting him turned to face the man and asked. “And what if we don’t?” in a rude, challenging voice.

The man smiled smugly and with a wave of his hand all three of the attacking boys were suddenly lifted off their feet, and floating, upside down, in mid-air. They screamed and shrieked in fright and the black haired boy couldn’t help but look from them to the man in awe. How was he doing that? Was that anything like the weird things the boy did without meaning to?

The man waved his hand again and the brute who’d been hitting the boy was suddenly floating face to face with the man, while still being upside down.

“Shut up!” the man ordered and the shrieking boys immediately quietened. “You will never abuse, terrorise, tease, threaten or ridicule anyone for being different, ever again, because if you do I will be back and I will do far more than frighten you! Do you understand, you little bastard?!” the man snarled.

“Yes, Sir” the boy answered quickly with a nod of his head.

“What about the rest of you?” the man asked turning his attention to the other two boys.

“Yes, Sir,” they agreed just as quickly and with a wave of the man’s hand the boys dropped from the sky with loud shrieks and landed, head first, in the dirt. They groaned as they pulled themselves to their feet and stumbled away into the orphan house as fast as they could, screaming all the way.

The man watched them go with a glare before taking a deep breath and turning back to look at the boy with a kind smile. “Are you all right?” he asked.

“Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir,” the boy replied with a smile, knowing he should probably be afraid of the man after what he’d just seen him do but finding he wasn’t. The man had kind eyes and he felt friendly and safe.

“I’m Harry,” the man introduced himself holding out his hand to the boy.

“I’m Tom,” the boy replied taking the man’s hand in his own and shaking it.

“Yes, I know, Tom Riddle” the man, Harry, replied kindly. “It’s lovely to meet you; I’ve come a long way to find you.”

Tom looked at Harry, puzzled by his words. “You have? Why?” he asked wondering why anyone would look for him.

Harry smiled. “Because you’re a very special boy, Tom, and I want to take you away to live with my partner and I. Would you like that?” he asked.

Tom looked back at him wide-eyed. Did this man want to adopt him? “You mean … you want to adopt me?” he asked not daring to hope until he knew exactly what the man meant.

“That’s right, we do,” Harry replied. “Would you like that?” he repeated his earlier question.

Tom nodded enthusiastically. “Yes I would, very much,” he replied eagerly and Harry smiled.

“Good,” he replied and pulled a strange looking stick out of his pocket. “Hold still for a second first, okay?” he asked and Tom agreed wondering what the man was going to do.

Harry pointed the stick at Tom and said some words they boy didn’t understand. He didn’t know what he was expecting to happen, but the feeling of warmth that flowed through his body surprised him greatly and he looked at Harry wide-eyed as he felt the pain from the unhealed bruised on his body vanish. When Harry pulled the stick back and returned it to his pocket Tom lifted up his shirt and looked down at his body to see all the bruises gone. He looked back up at Harry startled and asked, “Did you just heal me?”

Harry smiled warmly, “Yes I did and you’ll be able to do things just like that one day,” he replied holding out his hand to Tom who took it eagerly.

“Really?” Tom asked excitedly.

“Yep, really,” Harry confirmed.

“Wow,” Tom gasped in awe as they walked toward the orphanage. “How?” he asked more excited than he’d ever been about anything in his life. Perhaps he wasn’t a freak after all.

Harry grinned down at him. “How about I explain it all to you over hot chocolate when we get home,” he offered.

Tom smiled, the word ‘home’ making him feel warm and happy. “Okay,” he agreed readily.

Harry nodded in return and took him up to the orphanages main desk. “Excuse me,” he called out to the nun who was sitting at the back of the office reading over a file. “I’d like to adopt this boy.”

The nun looked up from her paperwork and eyed Harry critically before moving over to the counter to seemingly get a closer look. “You don’t look old enough to adopt a child,” she droned.

“I may not look it, but I certainly am, and I’d like to take this boy home with me, right now, please bring me the necessary paperwork,” Harry replied politely if not a tad impatiently.

The nun looked from Harry down to Tom and her eyes widened in surprise as she realised it was him Harry wanted to adopt. “Perhaps it would be best if you and I spoke in private before you decide to adopt that particular boy,” the nun suggested eyeing Tom like he had a disease.

Tom felt his heart drop. The nun would surely tell Harry that he was trouble and then Harry would never want him. No, that couldn’t happen, not when he finally had a chance to have a family again.

“No!” Harry snapped in annoyance and the nun all but jumped away looking back up at him in shock. “I don’t want to chat with you, I want to adopt Tom and leave. Can you handle that or should I go and find your supervisor?” Harry demanded.

The nun rushed to comply and Tom smirked, pleased to see the nasty woman put in her place for once.

“Don’t worry.” Harry’s soft voice made him look up at the man who was about to become his dad. “You’ll be leaving this place with me within the next 20 minutes no matter what,” he assured Tom as the nun returned with the necessary paperwork. Harry took the pen the woman held out and began to quickly fill in his details.

Tom watched him for a moment, before suddenly, on a whim, he slipped an arm around Harry’s waist and cuddled into his side. He felt Harry tense slightly as he did so and waited with baited breath to see if the man was going to push him away. He was happier than he would ever admit when instead Harry’s hand came down to wrap around his shoulders and the man held him back.

Tom smiled and snuggled in closer to the man. His life, that had been looking so miserable only a few minutes ago, was suddenly looking like it was going to be a lot happier and it was all because of a dark haired, green eyed man named Harry.

XX

“Please, father, it wasn’t my fault, the vase just wobbled and fell on its own,” a six year old boy with long, platinum blonde hair and desperate, grey eyes pleaded with his father. It really hadn’t been his fault, he’d just walked past the vase and it had fallen off the table, he hadn’t even looked at it.

“Do not lie to me, Lucius!” his father roared. “Vases don’t just fall off tables and break themselves and that one was a priceless antique from Germany! If you didn’t do it then who did?”

“I don’t know!” Lucius cried desperately. “I don’t know what happened but it wasn’t me, father, I swear, I didn’t touch the vase. Please, don’t punish me, I didn’t do anything wrong,” he begged not wanting to be on the receiving end of another belting like he had been the last time he was near something that broke.

Abraxas grabbed Lucius by the front of his shirt and dragged him forward until their faces were mere inches apart. The man glared at him with such hateful eyes that Lucius wanted to cry. Why did his father hate him so much? What did he ever do to deserve the man’s loathing?

“Someone broke that vase and it sure as hell wasn’t me, so who else could it have been, Lucius? Stop trying to get out of your punishment, you useless child, stand up and take it like a man!” Abraxas snarled dangerously

“But … but I didn’t do anything,” he pleaded again fighting to keep the tears at bay as he knew they’d only serve to make his father angrier. Men didn’t cry, Abraxas said so. If he saw Lucius crying he’d only make Lucius’ punishment worse.

“Are those tears in your eyes, Lucius?” Abraxas snarled so quietly Lucius felt his heart stop and his body began to tremble. He was in for it now.

“Yes, Sir, I’m sorry, Sir,” he replied shakily knowing lying now was only going to make his father angrier. Abraxas growled in rage and reached around to grab Lucius by his hair. Lucius cried out as the man dragged him up to his room but he didn’t struggle. There was no point and he’d only hurt himself more.

Abraxas threw the door open and pushed Lucius roughly into the room sending him sprawling to the floor. His shirt was ripped open at the back, and before he could even try to protect himself blow after blow began to rain down on his bare skin, every one of them causing him to cry out in pain. He didn’t know what the man was hitting him with, but it felt as if every blow cut and bruised him at the same time.

“Stop crying you useless child!” Abraxas screamed as the blows continued to rain down on Lucius back and Lucius bit his lip, trying to keep his cries of pain contained. He couldn’t though, not this time and when the hitting wasn’t having the desired effect Abraxas pulled out his wand and flung a crucio at him.

Lucius screamed and writhed on the floor as pain tore through his body. It was horrible, unbearable, he needed it to stop.

“There you useless, spineless, child, if you’re going to cry like a girl I’m going to give you something to cry about!” Abraxas screamed before cutting off the curse and returning to striking at Lucius with whatever he was holding.

Lucius tried to keep in his cries, but he was now sobbing so hard from the pain he just couldn’t. His father shouted and raved at him and when the blows stopped Lucius braced himself for another round of the cruciatus curse, only it never came.

He looked up through blurry, tear-filled eyes as Abraxas pain-filled scream suddenly echoed through the room and he saw his father lying on the floor, writhing in agony, while another man stood over him. Lucius couldn’t make out the man’s features, all he could tell was that he was tall and blonde and wearing black.

“How do you like it, you filthy monster?!” the man snarled as Abraxas screams momentarily ceased. “How dare you cast that heinous curse on him? How dare you lay a hand on him?!” The man yelled before another cruciatus curse hit Abraxas and he began screaming once more.

Lucius couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, the remnants of the curse kept him paralysed on the floor and he was helpless to do anything but sob brokenly and watch as his father was tortured. Honestly though, after what his father had done to him that day, he couldn’t bring himself to muster even a little bit of sympathy for the man.

Abraxas stopped screaming again and Lucius watched as the other man leant down and pulled his father’s head up by his hair to snarl in his ear. “How does it feel, you heartless bastard? How does it feel to be as helpless as you made him? I am going to make sure you pay for every moment of pain you ever inflicted on your son and believe me, when I’m done with you, a cruciatus curse is going to feel like a tickle!” the man snarled before casting a body bind spell on Abraxas and levitating him from the room.

Lucius wanted to know what was going on. He wanted to know who that man was and where he was taking Abraxas. He didn’t really care what happened to his father right now, but Abraxas was the only family Lucius had. If he died what would happen to Lucius? He had nowhere else to go.

A few minutes later the man returned to the room and moved quickly to his side. “Oh, Lucius, look at you,” he cried sadly. “I’m so sorry, I should have gotten here quicker,” he apologised lifting Lucius gently into his arms and holding a potions vial to his lips. “Here, drink this, it’ll take the pain away I promise.”

Lucius knew it was never a good idea to take something from someone he didn’t know, but right now he was in far too much pain to care what he was being given and this man was holding him and treating him with care. No adult had ever done that for him, not even his mother when she’d been alive. So he swallowed the potion, completely uncaring of the taste, and as the pain began to dull he relaxed in the man’s arms allowing himself to be comforted and soothed by the long fingers currently stroking through his hair.

“It’s going to be okay, Lucius, I promise, I’m never going to let anybody hurt you again.” the man whispered soothingly and despite himself Lucius believed him.

When Lucius’ tears had stopped and the pain had vanished almost completely to a dull ache in his body Lucius brought his arms up to wrap around the man who was holding him, wanting to thank the man in some way for saving him but also wanting to cling to the warmth and caring the man radiated. He felt safe with him, something he’d never really felt before.

The man’s arms closed around him in return and Lucius felt himself being lifted from the floor and held tightly to the man who began to rock him gently, his fingers continuing to stroke soothingly through Lucius hair.

Lucius felt his eyelids drooping and wondered if it was the potion the man had given him making him feel this way or his body reacting to the torture his father had inflicted on him. Either way he didn’t care, he felt warm and safe and very soon he was drifting off to sleep in the stranger’s arms, feeling cared for and important for the first time in his life.

XX

In a dark, desolate, rundown shack of a house on the outskirts of a muggle town a five year old boy with pale skin, inky black hair and eyes to match ran from one side of the kitchen to the other preparing his father’s dinner with whatever he could find in their fridge and cupboard, which wasn’t much. His unwashed clothes hung from his small, skinny frame, a sign of how very long it had been since he’d been allowed to eat anything, bruises lined his arms, ribs and face, remnants of the previous night’s punishment for not preparing dinner fast enough and a limp marred his quick movements from where his ankle was still recovering from being slammed in a door the week before.

From the other room he could hear his father and mother screaming at each other and could only hope the man had no reason to come down and take his anger out on him instead. He’d loved his mother once upon a time and had tried to take the angry man’s attention away from her so she wouldn’t be hurt. Over the years however, that love and caring had faded as the woman learnt this behaviour and began willingly throwing the boy in the path of danger to keep herself out of it. Now he felt very little for his parents except contempt and if he could he’d run away right now and never come back.

That wasn’t possible of course, his father told him over and over again how truly useless and stupid he was and how lucky he was to even have a roof over his head and occasionally food to eat. As much as he dreamed and wished for a family who loved him and cared for him he knew nobody else would ever want him and therefore he was stuck here until he was old enough to take care of himself.

He just hoped he survived that long.

The sound of heavy footsteps warned of his father’s approach and he dished up the food he’d prepared as quickly as he could before taking it over to the table and placing it down in preparation for the man’s arrival in the room. His father entered the kitchen and he looked down, avoiding the man’s eyes lest he take that as an insult and beat him for it. He heard the man’s feet move over to the table and he paused for a moment before asking, “What the hell is this, Severus?”

“Dinner, father,” the boy replied, trembling as he heard the man’s footsteps approach him. He could tell his father was unhappy with his meal and he expected a punishment, a few fists to the face or something of the like. He wasn’t prepared for the plate to come crashing down on his head so hard he fell to the floor, his vision blurring and his stomach heaving from the pain.

“This is not food, you useless child, what the hell are you thinking feeding me something like this?!” the man yelled and Severus felt a foot connect with his ribs. The kicks and punches rained down on him for what felt like hours, but Severus was so dazed by the hit to his head he couldn’t cry out or move to protect himself.

The man paused suddenly in his beating of Severus and dazed as he was the boy took a moment to realise it was because someone was knocking at the door. He lay there while his father moved to see who dared interrupt his ‘discipline’ and did his best to work out how much damage his father had inflicted on him this beating. It was hard to concentrate and his head hurt a lot, he also noticed that it felt cold and wet but he couldn’t make his arm move up to feel if it was from blood or the food that had been on his father’s plate. It was hard to breathe, but that was nothing new, and he hurt everywhere, also nothing unusual for him.

Footsteps suddenly approached him and despite the injury to his head making it hard to concentrate he knew immediately that they weren’t his father’s.

“Severus, can you hear me?” a quiet, male voice asked from behind him and he cried out in pain as he was lifted into someone’s arms. “I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to hurt you,” the voice said as he was turned over to face whoever was touching him. He couldn’t make out much through his blurred vision, dark hair and that was about it. A warm feeling suddenly flowed through him and all of a sudden the pain faded from his body and his vision cleared, revealing a young man with black hair and startling green eyes gazing down at him worriedly.

“There, does that feel better?” the man asked and Severus nodded.

“Yes, thank you,” he replied quietly.

The man smiled warmly, “Good. I’ve come to take you away from here, do you want to come with me?” he asked.

“Why?” Severus asked surprised and confused about why this man would want to take him when he was a stupid, useless child.

“Because you’re a special child and I want to give you the loving home you deserve,” the man explained. “My partner and I have a big house on a nice, quiet property where you’ll be safe and cared for. You’ll have everything you could ever need, two big brothers to play with and two parents who will love you always. Would you like that?” the man asked.

Severus nodded, not daring to hope that maybe, just this once, the universe had heard his wishes and seen fit to grant them.

“Come on then, let’s go,” the man said standing up and holding his hand out to Severus who took it hesitantly. “I’m Harry by the way; it’s nice to meet you. I’m going to be your dad, one of them anyway, although you don’t have to call me that unless you want to I’ll leave that up to you,” he explained as he walked Severus past his father who looked as if someone had frozen him solid without the use of ice, past his mother who looked terrified out of her mind and out the door. He walked Severus to a large, black car that was parked outside the house and opened the back door to allow him to climb in.

A young boy with black hair and chocolate brown eyes smiled at him as he slid into the back seat and held out his hand.

“Hi, I’m Tom,” he greeted Severus kindly.

“Hi, I’m Severus,” Severus replied taking the other boy’s hand and shaking it as he’d seen people do on the TV.

“I’ll be right back boys,” Harry said before turning his attention to Tom. “Could you make sure he gets all strapped in,” he asked the boy who nodded and helped pull the seatbelt over Severus and click it in.

“Good boy,” Harry praised causing Tom to smile proudly back at him before Harry shut the door and headed back into Severus’ parent’s house.

“Are they your parents?” Tom asked obviously sighting the two adults inside the building before Harry shut the house’s front door behind him.

“They used to be,” Severus replied wondering if it was normal for him not to feel any sadness at the thought of never seeing his mother and father again.

“Were they mean to you?” Tom asked softly.

“Yes,” Severus admitted.

“Did they hurt you?” Tom asked.

“Every day,” Severus replied truthfully.

He was startled when he felt the other boy’s arm wrap around him and pull him against his side. “Don’t worry, you’re my little brother now, I’m not going to let anybody hurt you again,” Tom swore and Severus couldn’t help but smile shyly back at him.

As Harry came back out of the house with what looked like a piece of paper in his hands Severus hesitantly snuggled into Tom’s side. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do when someone cuddled him, no one ever had before. He was pleased when Tom’s arm tightened just a little to hold him closer and when Harry returned to the car he gave them both a proud smile before climbing into the driver’s seat.

“Ready to go home, boys?” he asked.

The two nodded and he threw them a warm smile over his shoulder before starting the car and driving away from the house Severus would forever think of as hell on earth. He didn’t know what he’d done to get the universe to grant him his dearest wish, but whatever it was he was going to find out and keep doing it so he never had to go back there again.

XX


End file.
